Types of Race Start

Heads Up - This is where each car starts at the same time and the first to reach the quarter mile is the winner. The Green light on the Christmas Tree comes up for them both at exactly the same time. The reaction of the driver to the light can really make the difference to the race. One driver may actually get a higher speed but lose the race because he was slower off the start.

Handicap - Here the drivers get the Green light at different times. When you have two different class cars racing against each other the handicap assists in giving an even race. It is really amazing to watch a car get this headstart and then the other car catch it and beat it. You would swear there is no way he can catch up, but they do and sometimes they win. It really is 50/50!

Types of Races

Fixed Index - Here the driver nominates an ET which is referred to as an 'Index'. The driver must not do better than their ET. If they do they are disqualified. It is run the same way as an E.T. Bracket.

DYO Dial Your Own - This is where the driver nominates his own time. After qualifying rounds the driver nominates the time they consider they can achieve consistently. When racing DYO they use the 'Handicap' method on the Christmas Tree, with the handicap calculated from the difference in the selected times of each driver.Dial-ins. For example, car A has been timed at 15.98, 16.02 and 16.99 seconds for the quarter-mile, and the driver decides that a dial-in of 16.00 is appropriate. Meanwhile, the driver of car B has recorded elapsed times of 13.47, 13.52, and 13.56 on the same track and he has opted for a dial-in of 13.50. Accordingly, car A will get a 2.5 second head start over car B when the Christmas Tree counts down to each cars starting green light. This puts the emphasis on driver reaction

Factored - Here each class of car is given a "factor" which is based loosely on the National and Local strip records. So when two vehicles from different classes race the car's factor is applied to the christmas tree to give the handicap start. Breakouts are not applicable for factored racing and hence the fastest the vehicle runs in comparison to its factor, the more likely it will win.

E.T. Brackets - A bracket is assembled from vehicles using ETs (Elapsed Time) normally within a 1/2 or 1 second range. With this system, a specific ET is given as the breakout and any cars running under this time are disqualified. A bracket drag race is a straight-Line acceleration contest between two cars, usually starting at different times, from a standing start over a specified distance, usually a quarter mile or an eighth mile.If both cars breakout then the car which breaks out with the greater time is disqualified. The 'Heads Up' Christmas Tree is used for this type of race.

Bracket, or ET, racing is a great way to get into the sport of drag racing. You don't need a lot of money or special equipment to get started, but it helps to know "the basics."

Getting Started. The best way to get your feet wet is to go to a "test and tune" session (most tracks have them weekly). For a small fee, you can practice your starting line procedure, learn how the car reacts to tuning changes, and make passes down the track without the pressure of racing against someone.

You should also take time to watch how other racers do things, and most importantly, ask questions. Most racers will be happy to give you pointers on improving your technique.

Competing. When you’re ready to race against other people, you can compete in your track's weekly series. Your car will be put in a category, or class, based on the elapsed time of your car. Top speed is not a factor in bracket racing.

You will need to determine how quick you think your car will be. This is called the dial-in. When you are matched up with another car, the dial-ins is compared and the slower car is given a head start equal to the difference between the two. To win, you want to run as close to your dial-in as possible without going faster, or "breaking out".

You can also win if both cars run faster than the dial-ins (called running under) and you are closest to your dial-in. If both of you get down the track exactly at your dial-in or have the same break out, the driver who reacted quickest to the Christmas Tree-called reaction time, or RT-wins the race. Here are possible outcomes for a race between Car A with a 14.50 second dial-in and Car B with a 15.25 second dial-in:

Car A runs 14.55 seconds; Car B runs 15.35 seconds Car A wins (runs closest to dial-in without breaking out)

Car A runs 14.40 seconds, Car B runs 15.20 seconds Car B wins \both cars run under, and Car B runs closestto dial-in)

Car A runs 14.50 seconds with .510 RT, Car B runs 15.25 seconds with .505 RT Car B wins (runs at dial-in, has better reaction time)

Where can I race Chances are, there is an NHRA-sanctioned drag strip within a couple hours' drive time from you. You can find the nearest NHRA sanctioned track by contacting them at 1-626-914-4761 or online at www.nhra.com. LaFiebre.net is here to help you too. We will list racetracks in your area were you can practice Race Track Locator. We hope this primer helps you understand the basics of bracket racing. Once you make that first run down the track, you'll be hooked for life!

The Track

Burnout Box Small depressions in the track surface just before the starting line which are sprayed down with water. Now as much as the guys make sure these are spectacular to watch they do them because they are very necessary. When a tire is cold it does not have much traction, so what the burn out does is heat up the tire. The heat in the tire helps the car hold the track. They really are great to watch as well though, some of the cars are over half way down the track before they stop. After they have done a burn out one of the crew will guide them back right over their original tire tracks.

Then they do a dry hop and go into staging. The dry hop tells the driver how much traction they have. You could say it is an extremely short burn out, and being so short they don't actually smoke the tires. When they put the power down if the wheels don't spin then they know they have good traction and they should get an excellent launch. However if they spin they know if they put too much power into the launch they will probably spin again and so they won't go very far very fast. They need to get the traction, so will compensate for the spin by letting off the power a bit to give the tires a chance to grab hold of the track.

A car is allowed to do two burnouts across the start line, but that have a maximum time of 2 minutes to do this in. The 2 minutes starts when the first burnout is performed by either of the racers. At the end of the 2 minutes and once one car is stages the remaining car will have a maximum time of 30 seconds to stage.

Christmas Tree in Drag Racing is a tree of lights which work through infra red light beams. There is a set of lights for each lane. In simple terms, the Tree is a set of vertical lights that gives the driver a visual countdown to the start of a race. Referring to the illustration, the lights are as follows, from top:

Stage Indicator Lights Pre -stage is the yellow bulbs that warn you when you are getting close to the starting line.

Staged is the second set of round yellow bulbs that tell you when you are on the ready to race position light. The bulbs light up when the front wheels of the car cross a beam of light that goes to a set of photocells. These cells trigger the timer when the car leaves the light beam.

Countdown Lights. Then we have three amber floodlights that count down to the green "go" light. There are two types of countdowns, or starts.

Pro Start flashes all three lights simultaneously, with a .400 second difference between the amber and green lights. This is called a Pro or .400 Tree.

Bracket Start flashes one light at a time, with a .500 second difference between the last amber and the green light. Also called a Sportsman Tree. For drivers who are in the 'Dial Your Own' category the amber lights countdown one at a time. Next is the light we are all waiting for.

Green Light This is the one you're waiting for. When the green light flashes, it means you're free to mash the gas pedal and make a run. This is called the launch.

Red Light Lastly we have the bottom light which is red. If this bottom bulb flashes, you're out. The red light will go off when you leave the starting line before the green light is activated, resulting in a disqualification. Known as red lighting, this action automatically gives the win to your opponent. Most drivers try to begin their launch just as the last of the three amber lights goes off. That puts the car in motion when the green light activates. This is where most bracket races are won or lost, so time practicing your staging and launching techniques is time well spent.

Timing methods. Two seperate performances are monitered for each run: the elapsed time and the speed. Upon leaving the staging beams, each vehicle activates a elapsed time clock which is stpped when the same vehicle reaches the finish line. The start to finish clocking is the vehicles elapsed time (E.T.), which serves to measure performance. Speed is measured in a 66-foot "speed trap" that ends at the finish line. Each lane is timed independently.

Pre-staged beam. A light-source-to-photocell connection (one per lane) triggers the prestage beam when the driver is approximately seven inches from the starting line.

Stage beam. The beam controls the final staging and timing in each lane. A race cannot be started until both racers are fully staged.

Interval timers. A secondary timing system, with beams located at 60, 330, 660, and 1000 feet, records E.T.s for the racers benefit. A 66-foot speed trap also is set at the 660-foot mark.

Speed trap and E.T. time-clock beams. The first of these beams is located at 66 feet before the finish line and is used to trigger the speed trap clocks. A second beam, located at the finish line, shuts off both the speed and elapsed time clocks in addition to triggering a win indicator.

Lane Choice is something every driver likes to have. Now I am asking a few drivers why they choose a specific lane to be able to let you know, but I can tell you now how they get the choice.

In the first round, the competitors with the higher qualifying position get lane choice.
In subsequent rounds it depends on the type of race they are in:
For 'heads-up' the racer with the lower ET from the previous round gets the choice.
In 'factored handicap' the previous round winner whose ET was lowest in comparison to its factor gets lane choice.
In DYO it is actually up to the promoter of the event.

Practice Tree. Download this demo version of a drag racing christmas tree for getting a good reaction time at the starting line (better known as cutting a light) all starts with the Christmas Tree. A "good light," will give you a big advantage over your opponent, especially if you are running the slower car. Some guys, are known for their consistently quick reaction times. More programs below.

Mile Per Hour Timer. Also known as the speed trap, this timer is located 66 feet before the finish line. It records the car's average speed between it and the finish line. This is the mile per hour figure on your time slip.

Finish Line. When you cross the light beam at the end of the quarter- mile, you stop the ET clock. The amount of time (in seconds) between when the timer was activated and when it stopped is the ET figure on the time slip.

Shutdown Area.  Beyond the finish line is the shutdown area, usually a quarter-mile or more in length, where you can safely slow the car down to take the turnout that takes you to the time slip booth. If something goes wrong and you can't stop the car, most tracks have a sand trap, net, or other setup at the end of the shutdown to stop you.

The Times slip. After you make a run, the guys in the little booth at the end of the track will hand you a piece of paper with numbers all over it. This paper is called the time slip.

The time slip provides a wealth of information about a run. It tells you how well you launched, how quick and fast you went at various  points on the track, and what your final ET and mile per hour were. And if you were racing against an opponent, the time slip tells you  how he did, too.

Lane. Shows which lane you are in.

Car Number. Most cars are assigned numbers at official races.

Class. Marked if running in an official race. Not used for "test and tune" sessions.

Dial-In. This is the elapsed time you think your car will run

Reaction Time. This tells you how quickly you reacted to the green light on the Christmas Tree. In this case, it is set as a .500 second or sportsman Tree. You want your RT to be at or as close to .500 as possible. If you react faster than that, you've just red lighted.

60, 330, 118, MPH, and 1000 ET and MPH Times.These figures give you the elapsed times at the 60-foot, 330-foot, 660 foot or eighth mile, and 1 ,000 foot marks. You also get t mile per hour figure at the 660-foot mark, which is half-track.

1/4 and MPH Quarter Mile ET and MPH. These are your finishing elapsed time and mile per hour numbers. When it comes to bragging rights, these are the ones that count!

Software Downloads:

Practice Tree
Download this demo version of a drag racing christmas tree.

DragStrip Plus
This program takes every aspect of the complete combination of your car and
drivetrain into consideration to give you a detailed list of what is to be expected
from your car and what you can do to improve it. This is extremely accurate.

PC Dyno
Here is one of the quickest and easiest ways to calculate actual rear-wheel horsepower. Very easy to use and accurate.

CamQuest
This cool utility from CompCams will tell you anything from effective gear ratio to calculating the proper CFM carburetor needed for any engine combo. A MUST HAVE!! (must extract to floppy and install from floppy)

Car Test
For what it's worth, this is a pretty neat shareware program that will show you
things like horsepower curves of a specific vehicle or allow you to enter yours.